Summarizes results of a study on implementation and impact of classroom assessment techniques (CATs) in community colleges, examining how classroom assessment has been applied by teachers, documenting changes in teaching behaviors, and considering costs and benefits. Also examines students' experiences and satisfaction with courses taught using…

Describes the development and implementation of a collaborative effort between a college professor and K-12 art teachers. The teachers acted as art education researchers investigating how people understand and interpret art works in their historical context. Explains how the teachers became collaborators in planning further studies and teaching…

This article summarizes a team process for making related services decisions called VISTA (Vermont Interdependent Services Team Approach) and nine research studies on the use and impact of VISTA with students with low incidence disabilities. It also addresses team size, consumer perspectives, and paraprofessional supports. Five major conclusions…

This year's winners of the U.S. Department of Education's Model Professional Development Awards exemplify schools and districts where everyone's job is to learn. In these models, time and resources are spent on teacher-run institutes, data analysis and collection, peer coaching, curriculum writing, collaborative lesson planning, examining student…

This article provides a critical review of empirical investigations on the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and assistive technology with individuals with autism or pervasive developmental disorder. The review is presented by six topic areas: assessment, staff/family training, supports for augmented input, supports for…

Findings from informetric research represent an important background resource to add to the mix of information useful for resolving difficult and ongoing problems in specific library environments or information service settings. This paper provides examples of informetric research that can be useful input to decision-making in the field of library…

Most researchers agree that several broad-based steps are required for the effective use of data in education. First, states or districts must agree upon which data elements and indicators to collect. Then, those responsible for collecting the data must ensure its integrity. Once the data is considered valid and reliable, educators must have the…

Increased demands for colleges and universities to engage in outcomes assessment for accountability purposes have accelerated the need to bridge the gap between higher education practice and the fields of measurement, assessment, and evaluation. The "Handbook on Measurement, Assessment, and Evaluation in Higher Education" provides higher…

As a follow-up to 1985 and 1991 efforts to determine its own effectiveness in providing useful information to the college community, the Office of Institutional Research (OIR) at Florida's Miami-Dade Community College conducted a self-evaluation in 1994. Questionnaires were mailed to 296 department chairs, Board members, and other professionals…

The 1995 National Household Education Survey (NHES:95) was a random digit dial telephone survey of households developed by the National Center for Education Statistics. The NHES:95 included two topical survey components: the Adult Education component, which collected information about adults' participation in adult education, and the Early…

The perceived self-efficacy concept plays a significant role in predicting human performance in several areas of human effort, but self-efficacy theory has seldom been applied in the fields of adult literacy and English as a second language (ESL). This study designed a questionnaire for adult literacy and ESL learners to assess their self-efficacy…

In 1983, California's Los Rios Community College District developed the Student Flow Research Model, designed to bring together data on community characteristics, student characteristics, student and program performance, and former students' outcomes to answer basic questions related to institutional effectiveness. Over the years, the District has…

This special serial issue is based on the proceedings of an invitational conference on "Next Steps in Inner-City Education" held in Racine (Wisconsin) in October 1995. The three articles in this publication attempt to offer effective and practical recommendations for educational practitioners and policy makers who seek to transform the country's…

Research Ideas for the Classroom is a three-volume series of research interpretations for early childhood, middle grades, and high school mathematics classrooms. Each volume looks at research from the perspective of the learner, the content, and the teacher, and chapters are co-authored by a researcher and a teacher. Chapter titles in the high…

Ten strategies used to facilitate use of research to inform practice in urban schools are reviewed in this digest. The strategies are: (1) using ongoing, building-based staff development (SD) programs to translate instructional research into practice; (2) planning SD programs collaboratively with district personnel to ensure their relevance to…